Mass Inhabitation

EXISTING

Bhaktiyog a co-operative housing society in Borivali West was studied by interacting with the people, asking them their ways of living, moving around and studying the adjacencies etc. from which certain features of the existing building like the central courtyard, small space outside the house for evening talks, two households that aspire to come together, that the people there appreciated. Most of people there are elderly and in further years also it is assumed to be old people hence the existing is thought of as an assisted living facility and retaining these features.

INTENT

The main idea was the housing for old people, by retrofitting the building and adding two floors that would become community and rental spaces and some commercials on the ground floor which would bring recurring profits to the old. The intent was to build a skin around the existing built form that formed interactive spaces, spaces for pause and a garden that moves from the ground floor and goes up.

STRATEGIES

Existing built form.

Staggered corridor that wraps around the structure.

New additions to the existing.

Balconies formed due to staggering, become the node of interaction.

Programmatic diagram to understand the allocation of different programs.

DRAWINGS

The commercial shops are placed on the road front, where houses can be combined to form spaces with desired areas according to the use. The steps in the courtyard form seating spaces.
The space between houses could be occupied and how the balconies take place. Balconies and corridors then becomes the nodes for various interaction. Similarly this goes up to the 3rd floor i.e. the existing building.
On the fourth floor it forms a community space with common spaces like the library, play area, health care unit and the dining hall. The complete structure here is opened out to the outside and protected with fins that are recessed. One can just pull out chairs, games or a book to read from the room and sit in the open space overlooking the garden and the courtyard below.

The staggering that happens affords the balconies and open spaces. Corridors connecting the two types of building.

IMAGINATION OF SKIN

The skin forms a lively space for people to sit, the ground is retained where the children can play, the elder people could gather around the steps formed for seating, staggered corridors that extend outwards forms overlooking spaces.